Save Handmade Today!
I am sure by now you have heard of the impending law that is to take effect in February of 2009; The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) which was signed into law, in August of 2008, by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC).
If you haven't heard, in a nut shell, this law requires all who sell items to the general public aimed at children from the age of 12 and under, are required to test each and every component in the item for sale.
This law, as it stands, will cripple the small business community at large. We do not disagree that the law is meant to protect children from poisonous toys. However, it cuts the small business community and all its artisans off at the knees. The law requires each product and all its components, to be tested for lead by an independent source. The estimated cost to the business owner is around $500 to $3000 per item. The average small business owner does not have the funds to do this. If a business owner could afford to test each and every component the costs of this would be passed onto the consumer. In this present economy this law doesn't make any sense. The likely hood of the small business owner would end up having to close their doors due to the cost of testing.
A bigger shame of this law is that many of the non-profit foundations, that serve children, would lose donations, which they rely on. Yes, even donations fall under this new law. It is the overindulged people in power in Washington that will "throw the baby away with the bath water ", so to speak, with this law.
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